Erection of buildings



H. HOWARD-SMITH ERECTION OF BUILDINGS Dec. 11, 1951 eet 1 Filed June 14, 1945 1 mm \w.

u .1 3 I u 1% i I l Ho ard Howard-$71121 8) W7, ig ly; W

1951 H. HOWARD-SMITH ERECTION OF BUILDINGS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1945 Dec. 11, 1951 H. HOWARD-SMITH 2,578,631

ERECTION OF BUILDINGS Filed June 14, 1945 4 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1951 v H. HOWARD-SMITH 7 1 ERECTION OF BUILDINGS Filed June 14, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I77 1 87? 2% 1 72) vva rel Normal-617,424

Dec. 11, 1951 H. HOWARD-SMITH ERECTION OF BUILDINGS 5 Shets-Sheet 5 Filed June 14, 1945 Invenf HO WEI-CZ Howaw-i TrH-Zlz y Patented Dec. 11, 1951 T FFICE ERECTION OF BUILDINGS Howard Howard-Smith, Birmingham, England Application June 14, 1945, Serial No. 599,389 In Great Britain June 12, 1944 3 Claims.

This invention consists in improvements in or relating to the erection of buildings and particularly those buildings generally known by the term prefabricated buildings. This term indicates that the walls and other parts of the building are erected from relatively large prefabricated units which are moved into position and grouted by hand.

The invention relates to the equipment necessary for erection of a prefabricated building and such equipment comprises a framework which is erected on the building site and which includes the combination of overhead runways parallel with the main walls of the building, travelling cranes or their equivalent running on said runways, and power operated hoists on the ground to raise the building units to a position to be taken by the cranes or their equivalent, whereby a building unit can be lifted by the hoist to the required height and thereafter it can be traversed along the appropriate runway to its desired position in the building.

Preferably there are overhead runways lined up also with the party walls.

Figure 1 shows to some extent schematically a complete equipment in elevation,

Figure 2 is a plan of the equipment illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 showing only those parts in the actual plane of the frame members II and I2 and other transverse members 2| and 22 coincide substantially with the outline of the building (which latter is indicated by chain lines at 23) frame members I0,

l3, l4 and I9 lie outside the actual building area and serve to support extensions of the upper frame members. Pillars 20 are, at their lower ends clamped into bases which are shown in greater detail in Figure 5. Each of these bases comprises a base plate 35, and sockets formed by side cheeks 3i and 32.

The side cheeks 31 comprise plates reinforced 2 by spaced ribs as shown. A certain amount of play between the pillars and their sockets is afforded by securing the pillars in the sockets by cross bolts 33 having nuts 34 which slide in slots 35 in the side cheeks 3|. This provides for sufficient adjustment to be made to enable the socket bases to take up any variation in ground level that is likely to be met and thereby to ensure a uniform height throughout the upper framework without the necessity for any difficult or complicated levelling operation. It also provides play enabling the pillars to be raised from a prone position, in which they are first entered into the sockets, into an upright position about the bolts when setting the pillars in position at the commencement of erection of the structure.

The overhead frame members are keyed together where they meet or cross in the manner illustrated, for example, in Figures 6 and 7. This keying is effected in all the overhead framing with the aid of pins such as 42 (Figure 6) driven into registering holes in the meeting portions of the adjacent frame members, no nuts or bolts being used for clamping the parts together. This facilitates speedy erection. The overhead framework is supported from the upright members by brackets such as 46 and registering pins 42 thereon, which enter corresponding holes in the horizontal frame members.

Runways comprising spaced pairs of rails or girders 59, 5|, 52, 53, 54 and 55 are secured in and carried by the overhead frame parallel with the main longitudinal members thereof. Rails 5| and 52 provide runways for carriages 56 sup- 1 porting the ends of transverse rails 51, and on each of the latter is mounted a travelling crane 58. In a similar manner rails 53 and 54 carry other cross rails and crane members also designated by the numerals 51 and 58 respectively. The outer rails 56 and 55 serve to support wheeled pick-up carriers to be described later.

The power actuated hoists, each comprising a carrying platform 60 and a supporting bracket El are provided at various positions around the framework, the brackets 6| travelling on guides afforded by vertical structures such as 62. The power driven winch indicated as a whole at 63 has a cable 64 which is guided by pulleysto the upper end of vertical members 62 and down again to brackets 6| so that by actuating the winches 63, the platforms 68 can be raised to any desired height with a building unit which, as shown at 55 has been placed in position on the platform.

Above each of these hoists is an extension rail 66 and the transverse rails 51 can be moved into alignment with the extensions 66 whereafter the crane 58 can be run on to the extension to pick up the load 65 from the associated platform 60. The member 58 can then be run back on to its transverse rail 5'! and the latter moved to any position where the crane can deposit its load conveniently to the building operation.

There will naturally be a gap between the adjacent ends of the transverse rails 51 and extensions 66 when the two are brought into alignment and the crane bogies are made of sufiicient length that the crane can travel across the gap without tilting.

Hoisting tackle for the cranes comprises a known form of differential pulley indicated in the drawings at and these pulleys are suspended from chains H. Each of the latter is made up of several relatively short lengths of chain hooked together end to end so that as the building rises these lengths can be moved one after the other to position pulleys l0 conveniently to the height of the building upon which work is proceeding.

Rails 50 and 55 carry other travelling carriages 59 from which chains I59 made up of a plurality of relatively short lengths are suspended, and these chains serve as additional pick-ups by which loads can be lifted and traversed to any required position along the rails 59 and 55.

Scaffolding platforms are suspended around the building area and comprise a plurality of relatively short sections 80 hinged together at their meeting edges. They are suspended by a number of gantries 8i bolted or otherwise secured to the vertical pillars 20, and cables passing over pulleys and these gantries can be manipulated, in order to adjust the height of the platform, by hand winches 82 bolted to the pillars 20 and actuated by means of crank handles 83. Winch drums 84 are rotated by gear members 85, 86,

and the gears 95 have secured to them ratchet wheels 8! engaged by pawls 89. Between the ratchet wheels and the spindles of gears 85 friction clutches are preferably included so that if necessary, the platform can be lowered by turning the crank handle 83 without disengaging the pawls 88 from their ratchet wheels 81.

As platforms 80 are suspended at various positions the individual sections can assume different levels, as indicated in Figure 1 to suit the requirements of the workmen at any particular position around the building structure.

The platform section 80 may be provided with guide rails 69 for the safety of the workmen.

In the use of the equipment the outer wall of the building will preferably commence at one corner, and men working in squads will, with the aid of the hoists andtackle commence to build along, say the rear wall and one side wall, building will then follow along these walls and eventually along the front and other side walls and the internal walls in any preferred sequence which will be found most desirable during the course of erection.

I claim:

1. Equipment for erecting a prefabricated building and comprising a series of base members located to define a building area, each base memher having a base plate, a pair of sockets and slotted side checks to said sockets, a pillar engaged by its lower end in each of said sockets and having a part slidingly and adjustably engaged in the corresponding slotted cheek, a series of frame members constituting an overhead framework and carried at the upper ends of the pillars, readily detachable pins engaging within registering holes in the pillars and frame members at their meeting portions, runways carried on said framework, lifting means comprising a number of transverse rails supported from and below the level of said runways so as to traverse said runways, fixed extension rails secured to the overhead framework at the level of and parallel to said transverse rails, a travelling carriage carried on each of said transverse rails and capable oi traversing said transverse rails and said extension rails, and a lifting hoist carried by each of said carriages.

2. Equipment for erecting a prefabricated building comprising a plurality of base members located to define a building area, each of said base members comprising a base plate, a pair of sockets, and slotted side cheeks to said sockets, a pillar engaged by it lower end in each of said sockets and having a part slidingly and adjustably engaged in the slotted cheeks, a plurality of frame members together constituting an overhead framework carried at the upper ends of the pillars and connected thereto by pins engaging within registering holes in said pillars and said frame members, a plurality of girders constituting runways attached to said overhead framework and lying parallel to one another in spaced relation, transverse rails supported to run on said runways, crane members adapted to traverse said transverse rails, extension rails secured to said overhead framework at the level of and parallel to said transverse rails, and a series of scaffolding platforms supported from gantries secured to said pillars so as to be adjustable in height, said platforms being hingedly connected together at their meeting edges.

3. Equipment for erecting a prefabricated building according to claim 2 and wherein the said extension rails project outside the area defined by said base members and a power operated hoist is provided outside the building area adjacent said extension rails, whereby building materials may be raised to any desired level below said extension rails.

HOWARD HOWARD-SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 660,031 Seaver Oct. 16, 1900 756,932 Browning Apr. 12, 1904 786,861 Voss Apr. 11, 1905 1,188,238 Bartell June 20, 1916 1,362,069 Witzel Dec. 14, 1920 1,369,295 Painter Feb. 22, 1921 1,506,114 Donaggio Aug. 26, 1924 1,935,990 Pomeroy Nov. 21, 1933 2,332,479 Woolslayer et al Oct. 19, 1943 2,403,080 Hilborn July 2, 1946 

